New York City’s 81st annual Columbus Day Parade on Monday was canceled due to the governor’s state of emergency order and inclement weather spurring floods across the tri-state area.
The Columbus Citizens Foundation, which organizes the parade through Manhattan, announced the cancellation late Sunday evening, just over 12 hours ahead of its scheduled start time.
The parade won’t be rescheduled, the group added.
“Due to the Governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency this evening in response to the dangerous weather conditions brought on by the Nor’easter, including high winds, heavy rain and flooding in surrounding areas, we must cancel the 81st Annual Columbus Day Parade for the safety of all participants and viewers,” the CCF wrote in a statement obtained by FOX 5 NY.
“While we cannot reschedule this year’s parade, we look forward to seeing everyone at our 82nd annual parade in 2026.”
The state of emergency, announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul Sunday evening, is in effect for all five boroughs as well as Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
The entirety of New Jersey was placed under a State of Emergency as well.
The declarations make funds available to address damage caused by the storm, if needed.
Both orders are expected to last through Monday evening as the nor’easter continues to batter the East Coast.
The worst of the storm is supposed to hit at the next two high tides – overnight at 12 a.m. and Monday afternoon at 12 p.m. Each could bring up to 3-foot surges with waves as high as 15 feet along shore communities.
The Big Apple could see wind gusts up to 60 mph, according to the latest forecasts – making for precarious parade conditions.
The parade’s cancellation comes after President Trump signed a declaration Thursday calling for Oct. 13 to be observed as Columbus Day nationally, despite recent efforts to redesignate it as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“Columbus Day — we’re back, Italians. We love Italians,” Trump declared.
Former President Joe Biden signed similar proclamations every October during his term to mark Oct. 13 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Columbus Day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 1971, but has been celebrated by historically Italian communities since the early 1900s.
The push to replatform Christopher Columbus came in response to the 1891 lynchings in New Orleans, where 11 Italian Americans were strung up for their alleged involvement in police chief David Hennessy’s murder.
Hennessy’s final words were rumored to have been a derogatory slur for Italians, which made the public assume a member of the mafia was responsible.
Many of the men arrested for Hennessy’s murder, though, had no proven connection and strong alibis. When six of them were acquitted, the public was outraged, and a mob broke into the city jail to kill the men themselves.
The disaster was nearly enough to inspire a full diplomatic disintegration between the US and Italy. In turn, then-President Benjamin Harrison declared a one-time national observance for the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage in 1892.
After that, many Italian American communities latched onto their newly valorized hero and began to fund memorials and statues in his name.
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